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Tag: rio grande

Building a wall along the busiest stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border – the Rio Grande Valley – has proven to be much trickier than Donald Trump suggested during his presidential campaign.

That’s because land along the Rio Grande River in this area is essentially a floodplain where construction is prohibited under water treaties with Mexico. Much of the land also is owned by resident and businesses.

The Los Angeles Times examined communities along the river and found that erecting a wall presents a monumental challenge fraught with potential lawsuits from landowners, environmental groups and even Mexico.

Congress approved $1.6 billion in March to build a border wall and fencing along 100 miles of land in Texas, California and New Mexico. About 33 miles of that is in the Rio Grand Valley, where Border Patrol most needs the help.

But which border towns along the Rio Grand Valley get a wall is still unclear.

Israel Cantu Amador, who lives along the Rio Grande, said he’d rather see more Border Patrol agents than a wall.

A Border Patrol agent is recovering from traumatic injuries after his ATV plunged over a ledge near the Rio Grande in Sanderson, Texas.

Agents from the Office of Air and Marine boarded a helicopter and rescued the agent soon after the crash.

“The safety of our officers and agents is critical. These men and women put their lives on the line every day to keep our communities safe. We are glad to say that our air crew was able to successfully extract this individual from an extremely remote location to safety,” Supervisory Air Interdiction Agent Clay Tippit said in a press release.

The agent was treated and stabilized and then sent to a hospital via helicopter.

“We work closely with other agencies in the area especially Border Patrol. When an agent, or any individual, is injured we do everything we can to ensure an outcome such as this. Everyone worked together and got this injured agent the care that he needed. Because of that, I can gladly say that the agent has been released from the hospital and is doing well,” said Tippit.